“The coloured people of the United States are the only people in the world who are not permitted to forget that they are coloured.”

Describing the persistent pressure of racial categorisation in American life · Essay / public commentary

• Truth
• War

“The Negro is the only race in the world that has a song.”

Celebrating the distinctive expressive power of Black musical culture · Essay / cultural criticism

• Joy
• Music

“The Negro's greatest contribution to American civilization has been in the field of music.”

Recognising music as a central contribution of Black American culture · Essay / cultural criticism

• Art
• Music

“The Negro in the United States is not a racial problem. He is a human problem.”

Rejecting the treatment of racial injustice as an abstract or separate issue · Essay

• Truth
• War

“The future of the Negro in this country is precisely as bright or dark as the future of the country.”

Linking Black freedom to the moral and political future of the United States · Essay / public address

• Hope
• Truth
• War